BDD Orchestrator
Behavior-first development for features. Discovery → Scenarios → Implementation.
Iron Law: DEFINE BEHAVIOR BEFORE IMPLEMENTATION
Phase Tracking
Features progress through phases. Track in ticket frontmatter:
yaml
--- type: feature phase: implement # intake | define-behavior | scenario-gate | decomposition | implement | done ---
Phase meanings:
| Phase | What happens | Details |
|---|---|---|
intake | Context check, discovery (Phase 0-2) | DISCOVERY.md |
define-behavior | Writing Given/When/Then (Phase 3) | SCENARIOS.md |
scenario-gate | Validating scenarios (Phase 4) | SCENARIOS.md |
decomposition | Task breakdown (Phase 5) | DECOMPOSITION.md |
implement | Outside-in TDD (Phase 6) | TDD.md |
done | Cleanup, verification (Phase 7) | DONE.md |
Update phase when:
- •Completing a BDD phase → set next phase
- •Handing off to TDD → set
implement - •All scenarios pass → set
done
Resume Logic
When user references a ticket, resume work:
- •Read ticket → get current
phase: - •Find progress → first unchecked
[ ]in test-definitions - •Check context → read last work log entry
- •Announce resume → "Resuming at [phase]. Last: [log entry]."
Resume by phase:
| Phase | Resume action |
|---|---|
intake | Start context check (Phase 0-2) |
define-behavior | Continue drafting scenarios |
scenario-gate | Continue validating scenarios |
decomposition | Continue task breakdown |
implement | Find first unchecked scenario, run TDD |
done | Run /done and /audit checks |
Current Behavior
- •Detect work level (see SAFEWORD.md "Work Level Detection")
- •If user references iteration/story/phase from a spec:
- •Check if child ticket exists for that iteration
- •If not → create ticket, run full BDD
- •If yes → resume at current phase
- •Announce with override hint
- •If ticket exists: Read phase, resume at appropriate point
- •Artifact-first rule: Before doing work, create/verify the phase artifact:
- •Phase 0-2 → ticket at
.safeword-project/tickets/{id}-{slug}/ticket.md - •Phase 3 → test-definitions at
.safeword-project/tickets/{id}-{slug}/test-definitions.md - •Phase 5 → task breakdown in ticket
- •Phase 0-2 → ticket at
- •Execute phase using the appropriate phase file
- •Update phase in ticket when transitioning
Phase Files
Load the appropriate file based on current phase:
| Phase | File |
|---|---|
intake | DISCOVERY.md |
define-behavior | SCENARIOS.md |
scenario-gate | SCENARIOS.md |
decomposition | DECOMPOSITION.md |
implement | TDD.md |
done | DONE.md |
For splitting large features, see SPLITTING.md.
Key Takeaways
- •patch/task → TDD directly (RED → GREEN → REFACTOR)
- •feature → full BDD flow (Phases 0-7), track in ticket
phase:field - •Resume → read ticket, find first unchecked scenario, continue
- •Split → check thresholds at Entry, Phase 3, Phase 5; user decides (see SPLITTING.md)
- •Done gate → run /done before marking ticket complete
- •When unsure → default to task, user can
/bddto override